New Hampshire Bulletin

12/25/2024

Want to fix food deserts and lower food prices? Enforce antitrust law, activist says. Via Ohio Capital Journal.

For now, anyway, grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons aren’t going to merge into a single grocery megagiant to confront Walmart, another megagiant. But in many ways, the damage caused by 40 years of non-enforcement of relevant antitrust law is already done.

12/24/2024

When it comes to artificial intelligence, college students say they’re getting mixed messages: the stern warning from professors against use of AI and the growing pressure from the job market to learn how to master it.

For 21-year-old Rebeca Damico, ChatGPT’s public release in 2022 during her sophomore year of college at the University of Utah felt like navigating a minefield.

12/23/2024

Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, paid for s*x, including with a minor, used illegal drugs, and sought to obstruct investigators, according to a U.S. House Committee on Ethics report released Monday.

President-elect Donald Trump’s first choice for attorney general in his second presidency, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, paid for s*x, including with a minor, used illegal drugs and sought to obstruct investigators, according to a U.S. House Committee on Ethics report released Monday.

12/23/2024

President Joe Biden commuted the sentences on Monday of 37 death row inmates, citing his conscience as a force behind the decision. He also left the death sentences unchanged for three men charged with hate-motivated mass shootings and terrorism.

12/23/2024

A recent immigration surge brought newcomers to every state this year, helping to offset a continued drop in U.S. births while contributing to a national upswing of about 3.3 million new residents. Via Stateline.

A recent immigration surge brought newcomers to every state this year, helping to offset a continued drop in U.S. births while contributing to a national upswing of about 3.3 million new residents, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

12/22/2024

"At the core of plaintiffs’ arguments to the court is the contention that the state’s school funding formula does not provide enough in per pupil funding to meet its obligations." State, school districts spar at NH Supreme Court hearing over school funding. From Ethan DeWitt

New Hampshire’s Supreme Court has long been clear: The state is constitutionally required to provide an “adequate” education to its resident students.

12/22/2024

“Current revenues place the Bureau in a shortfall, extending the repair and rehabilitation schedule to 100 years." New Hampshire has a big dam problem, so lawmakers pitch new fees to cover millions in repairs. From Claire Sullivan

Of the 64 state-owned dams classified as “high hazard” – meaning their failure could result in loss of life – 33 are in poor condition, said the chief engineer of the Department of Environmental Services’ Dam Bureau. “Each one of those high hazard dams, I mean, the risk associated, if th...

12/22/2024

New Hampshire has a long way to go to address the state's shortage of housing. Here's what advocates are looking for as we head into a new year and a new legislative session. From Ethan DeWitt

New Hampshire’s housing shortage dominated candidate platforms this election season, from the battle for governor to the races for the state House. And it has been top of mind for many voters, polls indicate.

12/21/2024

Commentary: When industry pollutes, and the people are left to pay for it, that's a harmful and all-too-common example of corporate welfare. Here in New Hampshire, Saint-Gobain is the poster child for this insidious subsidy.

Of all the hidden subsidies for big business – also known as corporate welfare – the failed enforcement or dismantling of environmental regulations are the most pernicious.

12/21/2024

Commentary from Matt Fowler of Clinicians United New Hampshire: Why can’t you find a therapist who takes insurance?

Despite a growing need for mental health services, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find care.

12/21/2024

Congress finally approved a stopgap spending bill early Saturday that will keep the government open for a few more months. https://buff.ly/3DsWD0W

12/21/2024

The U.S. Senate approved a broadly bipartisan bill early Saturday that would increase Social Security benefits for millions of Americans with pensions by ending two of the program’s policies in place for decades — the windfall elimination provision and government pension offset.

12/21/2024

President Joe Biden’s number of lifetime appointments to the federal bench surpassed the first Trump administration’s Friday and set records as the most diverse selection of judges by any president in U.S. history.

President Joe Biden’s number of lifetime appointments to the federal bench surpassed the first Trump administration’s Friday and set records as the most diverse selection of judges by any president in U.S. history, according to federal judiciary observers.

12/21/2024

When Republicans won unified control of government during the November elections, they also won the responsibility to address the country’s debt limit after the current suspension expires on Jan. 1.

12/20/2024

The U.S. House finally approved a stopgap spending bill Friday night that will keep the government open for a few more months, after a raucous 48 hours that served as a preview of what President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in office might look like.

12/20/2024

After eight years, Chris Sununu has a well-formed perspective on the governorship. This week, he went into detail about his relationships with lawmakers, his philosophy on talking with reporters, and what comes next. From Ethan DeWitt. https://buff.ly/3VJoErd

12/20/2024

Fish and Game survey aims to shape update to New Hampshire's Big Game Management Plan.

You may have been one of the more than 30,000 New Hampshire residents to recently receive an electronic survey asking your thoughts on the state’s management of big game like deer, turkeys, moose, and bears.

12/20/2024

How Trump could try to ban trans athletes from school sports — and why it won’t be easy.

President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly said during the campaign that, if elected back to the White House, he would pursue a ban on transgender youth participating in school sports that align with their gender identity.